Besides giving rise to punk and new-wave bands, the era of 1977-1987 also birthed the bands that formed the foundation of “alternative” rock like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Husker Du, and many more. There was so much innovation and change during this time period that just wasn’t accepted by the mainstream media of the day.
This era also spans a time period large enough that includes my uncle’s college years and my first exposure to the music that would eventually change my life. I find it interesting that this is the music that made most of my favorite albums possible. And while so much of it sounds incredibly dated, a whole bunch of these songs still sound as vibrant and relevant as the day they were put to tape. Especially this
MP3 | Elvis Costello – Alison
MP3 | Gang Of Four – Return The Gift
MP3 | A Certain Ratio – Shack Up
MP3 | The English Beat – Mirror In The Bathroom
MP3 | Black Flag – Rise Above
MP3 | Chameleons UK – The Fan & The Bellows
MP3 | New Order – Temptation (UK 12” Version)
MP3 | Meat Puppets – Lake Of Fire
MP3 | Camper Van Beethoven – Take The Skinheads Bowling
MP3 | Husker Du – Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely
This series just keeps getting better! Nice choices.
Been enjoying your posts. However, the version of “Temptaion” you posted is New Order’s 1987 re-recording they did for their Substance compilation. Not sure why they did that, since both the original 7-inch and 12-inch versions (in separate recordings from 1982) are classics. Let me know if you want to hear them – or ask your uncle.
Nice catch Atom. My mistake. I’ve switched the version of “Temptation” to the 12″ version. My uncle is a Factory nut, so I have a whole bunch of that stuff.
ah, now i can comment. love the primordial soup. mother fuck mainstream 80s music, but the stuff that didn’t get played on the radio was awesome.
Eric – Any chance you could post “Hurt” from the B-side of Fac 63?
Also, maybe you and your uncle could help identify the mystery tracks I posted at http://myspace.com/atomten under “Who I’d like to meet.”
Thanks – aTom
That’s a cute kid.
I feel like I’ve come rather late to this party but I still wanted to say thanks for posting The Chameleons.
They are/were one of our great, lost bands. Coming from Manchester as I do, I’ve always had a soft spot for them as a “local band” and I’ve seen them live at least a dozen times, from the early 80s through to the “reunion” gigs in 2000.
The first two albums in particular (“Script of the Bridge” and “What Does Anything Mean, Basically”) are both excellent examples of riff-driven, indie rock. Think early Cure, or maybe the first Echo & The Bunnymen album. For the guitarists among us, there are layers of tunes just dripping out of the speakers. There’s lots of early 80s reverb, chorus pedals and echo units going on, giving you the most fluid and beautiful guitar sounds you’ve heard in ages.
They never really bothered the charts much after their first single (“In Shreds”) but they had critical acclaim in spadefuls to make up for the lack of commercial success.
Thanks for reminding me of all this!